GOLDENTOWNS-THE MECHANISM OF THE GAME

The Mechanisms of the Game

Raw Materials

Raw Materials and their extraction account for one of the most important aspects of the game. Raw materials are used in any process and the development of the town is directly connected to the available amount of raw materials. Raw materials can be purchased with gold from other players, but you will mainly acquire them from factories.

In GoldenTowns there are 6 raw materials : Vegetables, Meat, Wood, Iron, Stone and Clay. With the exception of vegetables, raw materials require other raw materials in the production process.

Vegetables are produced by vegetable farms and do not require other products. They are directly used in the production of meat, wood, stone or in recruiting new citizens.

Meat is used in the production process of wood, stone, iron and clay. Meat is produced by animal farms and requires vegetables.

Wood is one of the most important raw materials. It is used in the construction of buildings. All the buildings whatsoever require wood as a construction material. Wood is produced by timber works and requires meat and vegetables.

Stone is extensively used in the construction of roads. Any road requires stone in order to be built or improved. Stone is produced by stone quarries and requires vegetables, meat and wood.

Iron is used in constructions for training soldiers. It is also extensively used in the production of artillery items. Iron is produced by ironworks and requires stone, wood, vegetables and meat.

Clay is used in the construction of roads and high level buildings. It is produced in clay quarries and requires stone, wood, iron and meat.

On the town map and in the upper part the raw material stocks are displayed (see figure 2.1). As we have mentioned, in addition to extraction, you can obtain raw materials by purchasing them from other players in exchange for gold. Go to the Market section and select gold / raw material to visualize the players’ offers.

Fig 2.1 Raw materials as displayed on the town map (from left to right vegetables, meat, wood, iron, stone and clay).

Citizens and accommodation

With a few exceptions, any building requires employees. Additionally, any construction process requires workers. You can purchase citizens from other players by paying in gold or you can recruit them with the town hall’s help. It is important to remember that workers have a predetermined lifespan, varying between 10 and 60 days, depending on the town’s degree of happiness. In order to extend the citizens’ lifespan you need a higher degree of happiness, which is obtained by improving the dwellings.

Any newly recruited citizen needs a house to live in. houses may accommodate between 2 and 20 citizens. If all the houses are full, you can no longer recruit new citizens. Accommodation is one of the most important aspects. You must constantly improve the level of the dwellings in order to be sure that you are able to recruit new citizens.

Workers fall under 2 categories. Unskilled workers or skilled workers. Production buildings require unskilled workers, but other buildings such as the service ones require skilled workers such as doctors, firemen, etc. In order to turn an unskilled worker into a skilled one you need schools. Schools train the entire range of skilled workers, from cooks to spies.

Accommodation is displayed on the town map in the lower part (fig. 2.3) Citizens can be sold or purchased with gold. In order to sell a citizen, go to the Inventory / Workers section. If you wish to buy workers in exchange for gold, go to the Market / Workers section.

Degree of Happiness

The degree of happiness is one of the essential indicators. The lifespan of the town’s newcomers depends upon it, and that lifespan, in its turn, drastically influences production costs and town management. The degree of happiness depends 100% on the level of dwellings and is calculated with the formula

G=(Nc/No)*10

Where G is the degree of happiness, Nc is the sum of the levels scored by the dwellings and No is the number of dwellings. Let us assume that a town has 3 level 1 dwellings, 2 level 3 ones and one level 9 dwelling. The degree of happiness shall be (1+1+1+3+3+9)/6 =30%

The degree of happiness influences lifespan after the formula D=10+G%50, where D=the new citizens’ lifespan, G=the degree of happiness at the time of recruiting. If the town’s degree of happiness is 30% as in the above example, the newly recruited citizens’ lifespan shall be D=10+30%50=25 days

The newly recruited citizens’ minimum lifespan is 10 days, regardless of the town’s degree of happiness. The only solution in order to enhance the degree of happiness is to increase the level of the dwellings, however, these higher level dwellings require service buildings which, in their turn require employees. If you thought that gold extraction is easy, it is time to reevaluate the premises.

When a citizen is recruited, he or she does not have a specific job. He or she is an unskilled worker. In the game there are 10 jobs a worker can be skilled in : Policeman, Fireman, Doctor, Cook, Priest, Dealer, Spy, Banker, Teacher or Prostitute. In real life, the last profession does not require a qualification, but the developers’ team see that as a mistake, and wished to correct at least in a virtual environment the prostitutes’ unskilled worker image.

Storage Capacity

Raw materials are stored in warehouses. A warehouse increases its capacity depending on the level and can store between 600 and 3000 raw material units. Warehouses increase their storage capacity by 500 units / level. If all the town’s warehouses are full, you can no longer store raw materials and raw materials that are extracted or resulted from taxes are lost. Carefully monitor the occupancy degree of warehouses in order to avoid losses. The occupancy degree of warehouses is displayed in the lower part of the town map (fig. 2.3).

Energy

Each activity, such as the commencement of a production process or the construction of a road consumes 1 energy point and generates 1 experience point. Energy is renewed at a 1 point / hour pace, regardless of the level. If you are running out of energy, you can no longer play and must accept its renewal. You can, however, buy energy at any time, by paying in gold. The energy level is displayed in the lower right part of the town map (fig. 2.3). in order to purchase energy, click on the energy icon. There are 5 available packages, between 25 and 100% (fig. 2.2).

Fig. 2.2 – The table with energy packages. Energy prices increases or decrease depending on the demand and supply on the market.

Experience and level

As mentioned above, any activity consumes energy and provided experience. For every 100 experience, you advance one level. Upon advancing to a higher level, the government provided bonuses and you automatically receive 10 energy points.

One’s experience and current level are displayed on the town map in the lower left corner (fig. 2.3). Experience cannot be purchased.

Fig 2.3 – From left to right : Gold balance (1), Level (2), Degree of Happiness (3), Accommodation (4), Storage capacity (5), Energy (6).

Cemetery capacity

When a citizen dies, they are not immediately erased from the system, but “deposited” in a cemetery, where they will remain 10 days. 10 days later, the citizen is completely erased and the cemetery spot cleared. A cemetery can “accommodate” between 5 and 25 citizens, depending on the level. Should all the cemeteries be full, you can no longer recruit new citizens. In order to see the effective capacity of the cemeteries and the occupancy degree, click on a cemetery. You will see in the lower right corner the occupancy degree of all the cemeteries in the entire town.

Basic town construction rules

It is very easy, during the first weeks into the game, to build what you should not or to extend in the wrong direction. There are a few basic town construction rules which will help you avoid the mistakes of those lacking the patience to read the 50 documentation pages.

First of all, any patch of land must be connected to the town hall by means of a road. The high level buildings require higher level roads. A road actually comprises several patches of road placed one next to another, having, in the end, various shapes. Individual patches may be improved at higher levels. All the constitutive patches of a level 2 road are at least level 2. Prior to commencing the improvement of buildings, improve the roads.

Another vital rule is to locate certain buildings, such as dwellings, under the influence area of another building. The influence area represents a circle around one service building. The circle has a specific radius depending on the building level. Check at all times which buildings will require in the future the current land patch in order not to build what you should not.

Most buildings require employees. A building requires an additional employee with every level increase. A level 2 building requires 2 employees and a level 3 one requires 3 employees. You must permanently recruit new workers in order to avoid blockages.

Very important is the buildings’ lifespan, as well. Any building degrades by 5% / day. Upon a 100% degradation, the building collapses. A building degraded by more than 25% cannot be improved. Try to improve buildings as often as possible. Not all buildings degrade. In order to avoid definitive blockages, initial buildings (buildings initially placed on the map) will never degrade. Moreover, workers who are employed in the initial buildings never die. It is very important to avoid the construction of new productive buildings until you have improved up to level 5 the old ones.

In conclusion, during the first days you only have to improve the infrastructure and the initial production buildings while recruiting as many new citizens as possible.

Assets and super offers

The 100.000 gold initially existing in the mining fund are gradually distributed to miners at 3 gold / hour rate. In order to be able to permanently provide miners with gold, the mining fund needs new collections. The fund obtains incomes by selling assets such as energy or immediately terminating a process.

Since a fixed price would be impossible and unprofitable in time, the fund permanently adjusts the prices of the assets depending on the sales in the last 24 hours according to a simple formula. After each purchase of a an X asset, one will calculate how many X assets were sold during the last 24 hours and the number is multiplied by a value between 0.001 gold and 0.1 gold, depending on the asset. If, during the last 24 hours, no X asset was sold, one shall consider that there was a minimum of one sale. Certain assets are automatically more expensive, such starting a war.

We shall review the types of assets and offers the mining fund can provide to the players.

Energy - Energy is essential for your town’s activity. Without energy you cannot manage anything. If you run out of energy, you can buy from the fund energy packages. There are 5 energy packages : 10 points, 25 points, 50 points, 75 points and 100 points. The price per package is determined by the formula P=S*0.01, where P=the price, S=sales during the last 24 hours.

Immediate termination of the processes - In general, construction or improvement processes last between 3 and 24 hours. You can conclude a process on the spot by paying in gold. The price per package is determined with the formula P=S*0.01, where P=the price, S= sales during the last 24 hours.

Purchase of a patch - Not all vegetation patches belong to the town. Some patches must be purchased from the fund. The price per patch is determined with the formula P=S*0.01, where P=the price, S=the number of patches sold during the last 24 hours.

Unskilled workers sale - The unskilled workers sale represents an important income source. Workers die and a town can recruit no more than 300 new citizens / month. Demand is always high. The price per worker is determined by the formula P=S*0.001, where P=the price, S=sales during the last 24 hours.

Skilled workers sale – The training of a skilled worker lasts 24 hours and the process cannot be expedited, being much more convenient to buy them. The price per worker is determined with the formula P=S*0.005, where P=the price, S= sales during the last 24 hours.

Soldiers sale - Soldiers can bring immediate profit by taking part in wars. There are several types of soldiers available for sale, specialized in attack, defense or speed, between 0 and1000 points. The price per soldier is determined with the formula P=S*0.005, where P=the price, S= sales during the last 24 hours for the soldier type purchased.

Commencing a new war - Only governments may declare wars, but wars can bring significant profits. The price per war is determined by the formula P=S*0.1, where P=the price, S=the number of wars declared in the last 24 hours.

Proposal of a new law – Any government official may propose a new law, which will cost gold. The state budget is the one bearing this charge. The price per proposal is determined by the formula P=S*0.01, where P=the price, S=proposals in the last 24 hours at a global scale.

Posting an advertising message – on the right side of every page there is an area reserved for posted ads. Advertising represents an excellent way of finding buyers for the products you make available for sale. The price per posting is determined with the formula P=S*0.01, where P=the price, S=postings in the last 24 hours.

Charges for the sale of gold in exchange of real money - When you buy gold with real money from traders you will not pay anything. If you sell gold in exchange for real money, you will pay two 5% charges. The first goes to a special anti-fraud fund (see the Gold trading chapter) and another 5% shall be directed towards the mining fund. The charge is fixed and applies to the value in gold. The charge is paid by the gold seller.

Gold transfer charge- You can transfer gold to any other town provided that your town has a 100% happiness. A 5% / transfer fee is paid for each transfer.

CREDIT:goldentowns.com